Some words about M.C. (“Mike”) Dillon

Mike Dillon was not your ordinary philosophy professor. He was not just a revered teacher and a recognized scholar. Existentialism was his field, but he did not merely teach it. He lived it. He was an adamant atheist who believed that existential authenticity depended on one’s ability to live without the consolations of religion. As far as Mike was concerned, some people are willing to face hard reality, and some are not.

And “reality” is something Mike did indeed believe in. In one of his books, he presents powerful arguments against the fashionable postmodern notion that we cannot reach beyond the web of language to touch the objective world. He was on sabbatical when he died, and had come close to finishing a book that he hoped would free Nietzsche from the clutches of postmodern misunderstanding.

Mike was my friend and confidant for 36 years. He was bigger than life. He loved to live near the intersection of exhilaration and danger. He was a sailor, a skier and a hunter, which is why Mike made friends in wild assortment, far beyond ivory tower. He died while on a ski vacation in the Swiss Alps. And he built his own wonderful house – down that steep hill, deep in the woods – with his own hands, entirely from scratch.

On Saturday nights my wife Kathy and I would often get together with Mike and his wife Joey. By our second or third Scotch, the philosophical disputation would get pretty hot. Mike could be contentious, provocative. But committed as he was to his own view of things, he was devoted above all to the joust itself. He enjoyed being taken to task, and would be the first to praise a good counter-argument.

Mike could seem tough, but above all he was loveable. I think it was this paradoxical combination that made him one of the most popular professors in the history of this University.

INSIDE BINGHAMTON UNIVERSITY

Martin Dillon, distinguished professor, dies

Professor Martin “Mike” Dillon

Martin Dillon, 66, distinguished teaching professor of philosophy, died suddenly of a heart attack Thursday, March 10, while visiting his daughter in Switzerland. Dillon came to Binghamton in 1968 as an instructor in philosophy and was recognized with the distinguished teaching professor title by the board of trustees in 1993.

The Dillon family is hosting an celebration of his life from 1-7 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at their home at Ambremerine, RR 1 Box 1960, Friendsville, Pa., 18818. Those interested in directions or in sending a note can contact Melanie Yaworski at 607-777-3616.

Known affectionately to many as “Mike,” Dillon was respected by countless students and colleagues around the world, and loved by many, said Stephen David Ross, professor of philosophy. “He was a philosopher of great intelligence and accomplishment, a loyal colleague and teacher, and a great friend,” Ross said. “His contributions to Merleau-Ponty scholarship are immense, his support for the Merleau-Ponty Circle unmatched. His many students, colleagues and friends knew him as a wonderful person and friend and he will be sorely missed by many.”

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, along with Jean-Paul Sartre, is strongly associated with the philosophy of existentialism, and was a major focus of Dillon’s work.

Called “bigger than life” by friend and colleague Donald Weiss, associate professor of philosophy, Dillon was a magnet for undergraduate majors.

“He was an extremely charismatic teacher, but more than that, he was able to portray philosophy to students in such a way that they fell in love with philosophy,” said BatAmi Bar On, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy. “They actually found something in philosophy themselves because of his ability to portray that. No question. He is irreplaceable.”

Recognized with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching early in his career at Binghamton, Dillon was probably the main person in the department to attract undergraduate majors, said Bar On. “Students would just light up and it’s very clear that this will be a tremendous loss to undergraduate students. “He maintained a sense of the wonder of philosophy and a certain perspective about how to think about the major and philosophical education. A very important voice has been lost from that perspective.”

A retired captain in the U.S. Naval Reserve, Dillon authored three books and more than 50 articles, edited two books and was in the process of writing three more whose working titles were “The Ethics of Particularity,” and “Art, Truth, and Illusion: Nietzsche’s Ontology,” and the novel, “The Powerjuice Agon.”

Dillon earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in philosophy from the University of California-Berkeley and another master’s and his doctorate in philosophy from Yale University. He was a member of several organizations, including the International Association for Philosophy and Literature, the American Philosophical Association, the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy, the New York State Philosophical Association (Creighton Club), the Society for the Philosophy of Sex and Love and the Canadian Society for Hermeneutics and Postmodern Thought.

Dillon is survived by his wife, Joanne, three daughters and two grandsons.
The Department of Philosophy will hold a memorial service at a future date, as will the Merleau Ponty Circle.